My appt with the PM clinic is finally here. I go tomorrow morning and to tell you the truth, I am pretty nervous. I have been reading these forum for awhile now, and have read all the posts about PM doctors and the good and bad experiences people have had. The thing is, this PM doc is my only option. I can't get another one if I don't like this one. This pain clinic is the only one in the state that accepts my insurance. I sure can't afford to pay to go to another doctor after this. I'm hoping for the best! My PCP helped me with pain meds to last until tomorrow, but after that, unless this new doctor prescribes me something tomorrow, I will have no more pain meds. I have been taking 600 mg of Neurontin 3x daily and Vicodin 5/500 mg 3x daily as needed. I'm pretty sure that I have everything I need for tomorrow all packed up. My new patient paperwork all filled out, all of my meds in a big baggy, my pain journal, my test results and X-rays and MRI's, and a book to read in the waiting room in case they are slow about getting to me! LOL I tend to overthink things sometimes so having all day today to make sure I have everything, then checking it all again, and again, has been kinda funny. LOL I know it's just nerves making me do all this. I'm not normally this bad!

Well, like I said in the subject of this post, wish me luck! I'll make sure I post tomorrow after my appt to let you all know what happened! I really needed to get all that out before I go to bed. Now I think I can sleep, finally.

Just be honest with the Doctor, and don't try and make it sound like you can take the pain, allot of times we sometimes try and make it sound like our pain is bearable, when in fact it isn't! So don't try and be a super woman or anything. Just be your self, and let him know that you are hurting! I do wish you well and I am sure it will all turn out OK.

Good luck Tammy! It sounds like you are really on top of things! Just keep an open mind & don't be afraid to speak up about how much your pain affects your life! Hope to hear good news from you tomorrow!

I truly hope it goes well today and you can get caring Dr. who helps formulate a comprehensive plan to help with your pain.

**The rest of the post is a generalization and not specific to one person on this board..just some insights that I have learned**

One thing I have learned...is trying to talk in terms the Dr. deals with...facts...and what types of actions/daily tasks can and can't you do because of the pain..

Using terms like.."feels like leg falling off"..or "being tortured"..etc....seems to make Dr.s feel that we are exaggarating our pain..So...be honest...but be realistic...

As in..it hurts the most when I bend over to pick something up...or when I take a shower..I have trouble reaching up to shampoo my hair....statements like that.

A patient should tell the Dr. where and how much it hurts...and a good PM Dr. should be the one to decide how to treat us and what to do to help make the pain less each day using all modalities..

A wonderful and caring PM Dr. has spent his whole life going to school and working at perfecting his job of pain management.

If someone smokes and has no plans on stopping...the Dr. sees this as someone not taking their health very seriously and wary to perscribe medicine to help if you already are doing something that is known to kill...same thing for being very overweight...if you don't tell them that you have a plan to help take care of yourself in these areas and are at least trying..they feel that you are just wanting them to provide medicine to solve all your issues.

Just like if someone comes in saying.."I take 12 Tylenol a day.."...this tells the Dr. that you have trouble following even the basic instructions on an OTC medicine and less likely to trust you with pain medicines...They are not thinking..."gee this person hurts so much they have to do that"..they think.."They are willing to risk their health (liver damage) and break rules to get what they want.."

I only offer these thoughts after becoming friends with my PM and picking his brain about what his day is like...He is extremely compassionate and does all he can to help his patients whom also help themselves. He has to follow DEA rules so therefore that is passed onto us and our job to follow our Dr. instructions to the letter..

My Dr. feels that if you ever are having more pain...or side effects that are bad..or questions about something...that you can NEVER go wrong by calling and asking the nurse or himself. That's what they are there for.

If someone decides that they are smarter than the Dr. and take more medicine than they is prescribed...or stop meds without asking..etc...then they do not need his assistance to treat them anymore and he is wasting his time.

Yes..there are terrible Dr.s out there..and those you should decide to leave behind and go someplace else...but for lots of Dr.s...they will do everything they can to help ease our suffering..in return, they just ask of us to be honest with them about our pain...to follow instructions...and do everything we can to take care of ourselves with every modality at our disposal.

I truly hope you are blessed with finding that Dr. today:)

SB and "the pup who snores loudly"

ACDF C5-C7, (no hardware), with autograft bone Nov. 2001

(reabsorption of bone 2 years later...still lost in body..expect to burp it out at anytime..haha"))

Hi Jadensmommy, I really hope this goes well for you. I'm going to be facing it myself soon, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you. You've received such good advice and you sound so well prepared.

Just be yourself, be honest and lets hope you have a brilliant sympathetic, listening helath care professional! Best wishes, golitho

Hello everyone, and thanks so much for all the thoughts and positive vibes you sent my way! I think they worked!

I saw the new PM doctor this morning, and just talked to him truthfully and matter-of-factly. I stuck to the facts and told him about where my pain is and how much it prevents from doing in my daily life. He sat and listened to me and asked questions here and there. I felt like he was really listening to me and took the time to hear my thoughts and concerns. We talked for quite a while! More than most of the doctors I've seen have taken with me. In the end, he asked me if I felt that the meds I am taking were helping me. I told him that I didn't think so. I felt that my pain could be better controlled at this point. He agreed with me, and increased my Vicodin to 10/500 4x daily instead of the 5/500 3x daily that I was on. He also added Methadone 5mg. every 6 hours. He told me it was a low dose and that we could increase it over time so next month if it's not helping that much we can go up until I get good pain relief from it. All in all, I think this was a successful visit! I was really impressed with him, the nurses, and the office staff! I am feeling so lucky that I had a good experience on the first try! Let's keep our fingers crossed that these meds work for me!

Again, thanks to all of you for your kind words! I'll try to keep you posted on how I'm doing!

Tammy,That's great news! What's most impressive to me is that he took the time and really listened to you, and made changes to your treatment based on what you told him. That to me is how the partnership should work!

I'm so glad to hear that your appointment went so well & you've found yourself a great new doc! That's what we want to hear! I hope the med change makes a huge difference for you. It's so great when you find a doctor that you can really talk to. I have a couple of those & I love them to death. My PCP (who is the one who handles my PM) is especially wonderful. He encourages me to call him at any time if I just need to talk to someone! I think he is the most compassionate person I know. I wish everyone could have a doctor like him! I hope this new doc is just as good to you!

I am really Happy for you! I am glad that the appointment went well! I agree with PALady it is great that your Pain Doctor sat and listened to you and then adjusted your meds accordingly, and one thing that impressed me is that he has let you know that this is a on going process and will need to be tweaked and adjusted till he can get your pain under control! That is important, because it gives you assurance that if it is not good now that he will work with you to make it better! It does sound like you are off to a good start! I hope it all works out well for you!

Tammy, that's a fantastic outcome and I'm so happy it went well for you. I have excellent doctors here in Canada, who aren't afraid to prescribe what's needed to manage pain, so I know how valuable that is. I hope you start getting the relief you need quickly so you're feeling better soon.

I am just in awe over how well that appointment went! I started taking the Methadone this morning and it seems to work pretty well. I was able to take my Vicodin last night before bed, which is usually when I have alot of pain, and it helped me to get the best sleep I've had in weeks I think! I think the higher dose is exactly what I needed. I feel like I have more energy today just because I was able to sleep more last night!

It's nice to be able to share a positive story about PM doctors! I've seen so many negative ones, it's enough to make a person nervous to go see one! LOL

Thanks to all of you for caring so much! I feel like I'm part of a big family here, and I love you all!

GOooOOOooD Morning!!!! *huggs* I can't tell you how relieved I am! I'm so excited for you! You will have to be sure to tell us all about your first comfortable day in very long time. One word of caution thou, nothing bad.. But, try to pace yoruself. Nothing bad, its just that now that you finally feel better you will probably do a whole heck of alot more, physically, than you have been able to do in a long time! So, try to pace yoruself, you don't want to end up exhausted. *HIGH FIVE*

*warm huggs*

dani

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stood

Hello Mommy! Hey...it doesn't get much better than that! Wonderful that he listened to you! Here is a suggestion for you, and just a small one....it the meds don't work for you..and make sure you give them plenty of time to do so....give them a call..and report it to them. And what I have done in the past is to..return the unused portion of the meds to their office..and make sure you get a receipt for it as well. This builds a solid trust between your PM and you, and they will be much more willing to work with you in finding a solution to your problem. Lets hope that you don't have to do that..and I was pleased to see that he is trying a different med on you at the same time. Excellent news..and very happy for you.